Flash (User:Leader Vladimir)
The Flash is a superhero in the DC Comics Universe and the protector of Central City. In his secret identity, he is Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen, a forensics scientist for the Central City Police Department. Barry's life was changed forever when he was working late one night at the police station. A lightning bolt shattered a chemical cabinet, dousing Barry in the electrically-charged chemicals. Barry discovered that the accident had given him super-speed. Inspired by Jay Garrick, the original Flash, Barry decided to use his powers for the betterment of mankind and assumed the identity of the Flash. Across his adventures, the Flash has formed a legacy in the form of the Flash Family, as he has been helped by his girlfriend and eventual wife Iris West, and he has fought alongside Jay Garrick in many adventures, while his nephew Wally West would become his crimefighting partner, Kid Flash. Also, his grandson Bart Allen would become the hero Impulse. After many adventures, Barry decided to retire from superheroics and went on to live with Iris in the 30th century, leaving Wally to become the Flash in the 21st century. However, after Darkseid attacked Earth during the Battle for the Galaxy, Barry and Iris returned to the present, and Barry has resumed his duties as the Flash. Biography Early life Barry and a twin brother were born on March 19, two weeks late, to Henry and Nora Allen in the small midwestern town of Fallville, Iowa. The brother was pronounced stillborn by Dr. Gilmore. However, in actuality, he had been born healthy, but given to another family, the Thawnes, whose child had died during birth. The lateness of Barry's birth only foreshadowed his bad habit of always being late. Barry grew up reading the adventures of his favorite superhero, Jay Garrick, the original Flash, and acted many of his hero's adventures out with his friend and future girlfriend, Iris West. In high school, Barry had a reputation for being slow and easy-going. On his first date, he went to a carnival. His date had wanted to put a little motion in his life, and they went on the roller coaster first thing. Because of this, he developed a fear of roller coasters, a fear that he didn't get rid of until much later in his life. Barry loved chemistry from an early age, and that helped his skills as a farmer. He won first place in the Fallville County Fair Agricultural Competition, a prize which included an scholarship to Sun City University. He graduated in three years with a major in organic chemistry and a minor in criminology. While a senior, Barry helped the authorities apprehend a bank robber, and he was offered a job as a police scientist for the Central City Police Department Scientific Detection Bureau. Eager to be in the sister city of his childhood hero's home, Keystone City, he accepted the offer. After moving to Central City and getting an apartment with a laboratory in the back, Barry made an agreement with Iris, who had landed a job as a reporeter for the Central City Citizen, to give her information about the police's findings, as long as their exchanges were off the record. In those days, Iris held a crush on Barry, but she kept a secret, for fear that it would ruin their friendship. That night during an electrical storm, Barry returned to an experiment after a short break. All of a sudden, a bolt of lightning streaked through a window, shattered a chemical cabinet and covered Barry in the electrified chemicals. Dazed, he decided to return home in a taxi. However, the taxi started to pull away without noticing him. Barry sprinted after it, only to run straight past it as if it had been standing still. He decided to sit down and recollect his thoughts at a diner. A passing waitress accidentally spilled the items of her tray onto Barry, who amazingly caught them all in mid-air and returns them to the tray. The next day, Barry saved Iris from a stray bullet. There was no question about it: the freak accident had somehow given Barry superhuman speed. Deciding to use his powers to help humanity, Barry designed a special costume. He used a special cold cast polyester he developed in college, which could be molded into miniature outfits from liquid material, that, when submersed in a special liquid, became sensitive to hydrogen, expanding on contact with the hydrogen in the air. A charge from a battery-powered ring he wore on his finger caused the fabric to release the extra hydrogen and shrink into the ring. He later revised the process, making the fabric sensitive to nitrogen instead. He called himself the Flash, a tribute to his childhood idol. He briefly considered wearing a costume that would show his face, like Jay had, but decided that it would be best to wear a mask to conceal his true identity. Flash's first major superhero adventure was to save Iris from Captain Cold, who would become one of his most frequent enemies. Early Adventures The Flash became one of the founders of the Justice League of America. He became a close friend to one of the League's members, Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern. Flash and Green Lantern would share many adventures, with or without the Justice League. During one summer, Iris's nephew Wally came to visit her in Central City. He was an incredible Flash fan, and he knew his aunt's boyfriend was a "friend" of the Flash, so a meeting was arranged. The Flash offered to answer all of Wally's questions, so Wally asked how the Flash had gained his powers of super-speed. The Flash explained the events of what had happened, causing Wally to wish out loud that something like that would happen to him. It just so happened that Barry had set up the cabinet of chemicals in his lab just as it had been during that fateful night, and there was a thunderstorm on the afternoon of Wally's visit. All of a sudden, almost in answer to Wally's wish, the freak accident that gave Barry his powers repeated itself, this time covering Wally in electrically-charged chemicals. Now possessing the same powers as the Flash, Wally at first donned a smaller-sized copy of Barry Allen's Flash costume, with the Picture News dubbing the young crimefighter 'Kid Flash' in a headline. Wally's original costume was later transformed into a new yellow and red design with which the Flash had been toying, following an accident with a matter-transforming machine. As Kid Flash, Wally wore this costume for many years until he outgrew his teenage appellation and became the new Flash, exchanging it for the outfit originally worn by Barry. Romance and Wedding with Iris Barry, as the Flash, began a relationship with Iris, without telling her about his secret identity. Iris, still harboring a crush on Barry, was torn between Barry and Flash. After a few months of dating, Barry revealed his secret to her. At first, Iris was shocked, telling Barry about the crush she had on him since they were kids, but Barry replied that she wanted Iris to like him as plain Barry Allen, not as Flash. Rekindling their love, Barry and Iris continued their relationship. After dating for one year, Barry proposed to Iris on a Ferris wheel at the fair. She accepted and they were married, despite the efforts of Professor Zoom, who attempted to foil the ceremony. Retirement After their first year of marriage, Barry made the choice of retiring as Flash and he and Iris decided to live in the 31th century. He allowed Wally to become the new Flash. Barry's time in the 30th is largely unknown, but it is known that he and Iris had twins: Don and Dawn. Eventually, they had a nephew, Bart, who became the superhero Impulse in the 21st century. Return to the present Barry and Iris's happy life in the 31st would come to an end when the 31st century began experiencing all kinds of natural disasters. To escape, Barry assumed the mantle of Flash once more and he and Iris returned to the 21st century, only to find that Darkseid had conquered the world. Barry and Iris are suddenly attacked by a group of Female Furies composed of the Anti-Life corrupted Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Catwoman, and Giganta. Evading the Furies, Barry and Iris take refuge in their old house. Barry and Iris are reunited with Wally and Jay. Personality The Flash has a strong sense of pacifism and would rather negotiate with his enemies rather than fighting them in the first place. However, Barry is not completely opposed to the idea of using violence against criminals and is willing to fight when his enemies refuse to back down. In this regard, the Flash is an opposite to Green Lantern, who has a more aggressive attitude against villains. Normally, the Flash is seen as an optimistic person who prefers to see the bright side of any situation, atlhough there are times when Barry can lapse into depression over long-standing, unresolved issues, such as his mother's unsolved murder. Despite this, the Flash is so respected among his fellow superheroes that Batman has even remarked that he is the "kind of man I would've hoped to become if my parents hadn't been murdered." Powers and Abilities Powers Speed Force Conduit: Speed Force is a vaguely defined extra-dimensional energy force from which most superspeed-powered heroes draw their powers. The Speed Force serves as the ultimate measure of velocity in the DCU. They are often referred to in terms of barriers: Sound barrier, Light barrier, Time Barrier, Dimensional Barrier, and finally the Speed Force Barrier. In Final Crisis, using the Speed Force, Allen was able to undo the effects of the Anti-Life Equation upon an individual: an ability he used on his wife Iris to free her from the bondage of Darkseid's mind control. He has been revealed to not only be connected to the Speed Force, but is the very source of it, generating it with every step he takes. As such, he presumably has some if not all of the Speed Force-related abilities other speedsters have demonstrated (such as lending and stealing speed), though he has yet to demonstrate such abilities. : Decelerated Aging: Along with every speedster that draws from the Speed Force, the loved ones of the speedsters will gain eternal youth like Jay's wife and Barry's wife ages have shown. : Speed Force Aura: The Flash's body is surrounded by what he calls his "speed force aura". This aura protects him and anyone who is running with him or carried by him, from the effects of using his speed. This includes friction and airborne particulate matter. It may also protect him from injury. He does seem to possess some level of superhuman resistance to injury but this does not extend far past normal physical interactions, as received from normal combat. : Phasing: The Flash has always possessed the ability to control his speed and angular momentum at the molecular level. While in an intangible state, Flash is immune to any airborne viruses and can breathe regularly. He can also vibrate so fast that light does not reflect off him, rendering him invisible. Barry is unique among Flashes and most characters in the DC Universe in that he has complete control over every molecule in his body. : Vibrational Vision: An ability that all Flash's share, Barry is able to see invisible objects that are vibrating too fast for an ordinary person to see such as the barrier that Gorilla City uses to hide itself. : Regeneration: Able to accelerate his healing factor while using the Speed Force to sustain him, he could heal from any injury instantly. : Superhuman Endurance: Can run at acclerated speeds for long periods of time without tiring or stressing his body. The degree of his endurance is unknown, as he's never been shown as getting tired at all. : Superhuman Speed: It appears that Barry Allen can practically run at almost any speed; even exceeding the speed of light under his own power. After returning to life , when he is running away from the league Barry admits to Superman that the reason why Superman won races against him was due to the races being for charity. Theoretically, speeds greater than Mach 10, are dangerous to the people and to the environment. This speed would still be the equivalent to approximately 128 miles per second; allowing him to cross the United States in about 23 minutes, or circle the world in about 3 hours . The Flash rarely achieves such speed in populated areas due to the effects of sonic disruptions and air displacements. His cruising speeds are subsonic (less than 770 mph ; the speed of sound at sea level). This is fast enough to move through most cities and around people without causing too much disruption to the population. He can also run across bodies of water and up the sides of buildings. Barry is now the fastest being in the universe and the fastest Flash due to the time he spent in the Speed Force and being the creator of it. :Time & Dimensional Travel: Barry Allen has shown to be able to traverse time and dimensions. He previously used the Cosmic Treadmill for this feat, but recently he has shown that he no longer needs to since he can now do it on his own with precision and control. ::*''Limited Flight: By spinning like a helicopter, he can even perform a limited kind of flight. Since his power is a quantum/molecular phenomenon, it is possible for the Flash to be able to fly just as other metas do (and there have been other flying speedsters in the past, such as the deceased Johnny Quick) because he can control his absolute molecular energy and direction and force it in the direction he wished to move without running. :*Increased Perceptions: The Flash possesses the ability to alter his perceptions so that falling objects can appear to be standing still and can be caught and moved back to their normal position. He can do this so quickly as to have it happen invisibly to the normal human eye. He can strike a single opponent hundreds of times in a second or multiple opponents two or three times in a second. He can disarm or jam any number of opponents weapons before they are even aware of his movement and can hurl small projectiles at hypersonic velocities. :*Supercharged Brain Activity: The Flash's mental abilities are also increased in speed, simple computations can be done at lightning speeds, and his ability to perform normal feats at increased speeds has allowed him to perform incredible feats. Barry can also read at super-speed. Barry is able to avoid telepathic thought manipulation when he accelerates his brain activity. :*Vortex Creations: By running in a circle at a certain speed, Barry Allen is able to create a vortex with a variety of affects. One effect is pulling the air away from the center in order to suffocate an enemy. Another effect is levitating whoever and whatever was in the center. Also, able to send anyone or anything into another dimension when running around them. Some other effects are acting as barriers to movement or funnels for toxic gases. Barry Allen can also spin his arms to create directed funnels of hurricane-speed winds that can knock down barriers or reduce the speed of a falling object. When putting out forest fires, what Flash does is create a pocket tornado by running around the perimeter of the area. The updraft lowers the temperature inside the funnel and raises the fire off the ground which takes away its fuel source. Abilities *'Master Detective: Barry is skilled as a forensic scientist. *Chemistry: As a forensic scientist, he is an expert chemist. *'''Criminal Psychology: As a police officer/forensic scientist, Barry is adept in criminal psychology and often discusses these topics with Batman. *'Hope': Barry has the ability to instill hope in others to such a degree, he can successfully use a Blue Lantern Corps Power Ring. Strength *Barry has shown that he is able to carry several people at a time when evacuating a dangerous area, whether feats like this are performed while running on adrenalin is not known. Barry possesses the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engages in intensive regular exercise, and can at least press lift his own body weight. However, his powers allow him to throw punches at speeds that, on impact, can have the same effect someone with superhuman strength can have. Weakness *'Inexperience with Time Travel': At first, it was believed that Barry could not affect or change his own past when he travelled through time, just like Professor Zoom. In the Flashpoint, this was revealed to be false. However, Barry does not know how to control this ability, and when he tried to save his mother from Professor Zoom, he ended up siginificantly changing his friends's lives. Category:Flash Family Category:User:Leader Vladimir's characters Category:Good Characters